New stop on Pirmasens audio tour revives US military history at Husterhöh Kaserne

PIRMASENS, Germany — U.S. veterans are reconnecting with their old service at Husterhöh Kaserne thanks to a stop on an audio tour inspired by a social media group named after the former U.S. military base in Pirmasens.

City officials, veterans and residents gathered Wednesday at the former barracks, nicknamed “the Banana Building” because of its crescent shape, to kick off the tour, which encapsulates both America’s heritage and German of the site.

The audio tour presents 19 steles with QR codes engraved on historical sites in Pirmasens. The new Husterhöh stop on the route is the only bilingual of the 19.

Voiced by German-American teenager Gisela Looper and retired American soldier Kenny Coleman, it chronicles the region’s transformation from a military center to a thriving civilian community.

It took shape from interactions within the “Husterhoeh Kaserne” Facebook community, connecting former U.S. service members stationed at the base, city officials said.

Marina Hilbert, a German citizen and administrator of the group, said her journey began with searches on social media to find long-lost American friends who had left Germany decades earlier after their tour of duty.

Sharing photos of old haunts evoked memories for many veterans, Hilbert said, and she was drawn to their fond memories of Pirmasens.

“Then questions from online vets quickly followed: ‘Is my building still there?’ or “And my owners, are they still alive?” ” she said. “And I just tried to help where I could.”

Today, the group of more than 1,800 members also supports a unique initiative known as the “care call” program.

Group members regularly contact listed members to check on their well-being. If a veteran doesn’t respond, the community takes additional steps, with a volunteer personally checking in to make sure everything is okay.

Many members are aging, so the Care Call ensures they stay connected and supported, maintaining a lifeline of support and companionship, she said.

The bilingual audio guide is the result of a joint effort of group members, municipal authorities, the Pirmasens Youth Forum and the Pirmasens Historical Association.

It explores local military history and also looks at the region’s culture and vernacular, which had an impact on veterans. One of these words is “grumbeere” or “ground berries,” the local name for potatoes.

Looper, whose parents work at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, noted the curiosity about American heritage, which persists in the the names of the streets of the city.

“I like to think how confused some German bureaucrats must be when they read the term ‘Delaware Avenue’ in a letter, rather than the German words for street and alley,” she said. “Maybe the street addresses will get people interested in learning more, and that’s what the audio guide is for.”

Built in 1938, the barracks were initially used by the Hitler Youth and served as a training ground during the war, the guide explains. The site was ceded to the Americans by the French in March 1951.

Over the decades, it expanded to approximately 750 acres, housing more than 10,000 U.S. troops and their families in the 1990s.

Among the Cold War veterans who reconnected through the Facebook group was Rufus Riley, who served as a missile crewman at Pirmasens as part of the 2/56 Air Defense Artillery for 10 years starting in 1972.

Riley, an African American who arrived young amid the Vietnam War and growing racial tensions, said he had heard about neo-Nazis before arriving in Germany.

“When I arrived, I saw large groups with flags and I thought they were already demonstrating,” he recalls. “But actually, they were going to a football game. It was a relief!

This first misunderstanding marks the beginning of his deep connection with the city, where he will meet his future wife and become an active sports coach.

Following a reduction in the U.S. military presence in 1997, the region faced economic challenges, leading to an urban development agreement in 1999 aimed at revitalizing the site for civilian use.

Edith Allison, who served at the base as an intelligence analyst from 1978 to 1981, he returned to Germany a few years ago as a professor of educational activities at the Ministry of Defense.

“Pirmasens was my first time this far from home and holds a special place in my heart,” she said. “When I first came back in 2019, they were demolishing some buildings and I thought they were dying.

“But there is a spark of life in this position,” she said. “It’s really cool.”

Today, only a small U.S. Air Force logistics facility remains, amid a dwindling presence at the former base.

“My Americans, my family as I call them, are always sad when they see the old buildings in post. But the buildings were never those of the Husterhöh,” Hilbert said. “It was always the people. Without them, there would be no Husterhöh.”